Northeastern Ont. police lay 139 impaired driving charges in six weeks

Efforts to reduce impaired driving in the northeast seem to be working in some communities – provincial police say stats are still high.

Efforts to reduce impaired driving in northeastern Ontario appear to be working in some communities, but are still high as provincial police release results of their Holiday season sobriety checks.

Between Nov. 21 and Jan. 1, a dozen OPP detachments in the northeast region conducted more than 1,500 roadside checks.

“We just want to be out there,” said Acting OPP Sgt. Michelle Simard, in an interview with CTV News on Tuesday.

“Not only, lay the charges, but we want to educate people, in 2024, you know impaired driving shouldn’t exist.”

Slight decrease in charges

A total of 139 impaired driving charges were laid in that six-week period, a decrease of 14 per cent compared to the previous season.

The penalty for having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more is an immediate 90-day driver’s licence suspension, $550 fine and the vehicle is impounded for one week.

The same penalty applies to all drivers who fail or refuse to comply with a demand for alcohol or drug testing or who perform poorly during a drug recognition expert evaluation.

If convicted, drivers face a licence suspension of at least one year, mandatory education or treatment program and must use an ignition interlock device for at least a year.

Commercial, young and novice drivers are not allowed to have any alcohol or drugs in their system.

Areas with most charges

The Manitoulin Island detachment in Manitowaning laid 26 impaired driving charges during the Holiday roadside initiative, the most in the northeast, out of 165 events.

This is down from 29 charges during the 2023/24 season.

The James Bay detachment had the second highest number of impaired driving charges with 18 out of 191 events.

This is an increase from the 15 charges laid in the 2023/24 season.

Sudbury laid 17 impaired driving charges, down from 20.

Temiskaming laid 15, down from 17, and West Parry Sound had 14, which is up from 11.

North Bay saw the biggest decrease from 26 to six.

Penalties for levels blood alcohol levels 0.05 and above

During the same time period, 26 drivers in the northeast received ‘warn range suspensions’ for having a blood alcohol concentration between 0.05 and 0.079. This was the same number as the previous year.

The length of a ‘warn range suspension’ increases with each occurrence as well as the fines. A first occurrence comes with a three-day driving suspension and a $250 fine.

If a driver receives a second ‘warn range,’ the suspension is seven days with a $350 penalty and they must complete an alcohol education program.

When drivers receive a third or subsequent occurrence, the suspension is 30 days and the driver must complete a treatment program and use an ignition interlock for six months.

The Sault Ste. Marie detachment laid nine ‘warn-range suspensions’ during the initiative -- the highest number in the region -- up from two the previous year.

Temiskaming had the second highest ‘warn-range suspensions’ with five, up from one in 2023-24.

Plan a safe ride home:

“Our goal, the goal of the OPP is to ensure safe roadways and one of those things is to reduce impaired driving,” said Simard.

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Eric Taschner